Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 5, 2026
Corneal Donor Tissue Preparation for Endothelial Keratoplasty
Published on: June 12, 2012
Prescription patterns in DMEK: European survey
Yexin Ye1, Fabio de Rooij, Nicolas Alejandre
1From the University Eye Clinic, Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, the Netherlands (Ye, de Rooij, van den Biggelaar, Nuijts, Dickman); Ophthalmology Department, Fundación Jiménez Díaz University Hospital, Madrid, Spain (Alejandre); Department of Ophthalmology, New Civil Hospital, Strasbourg University Hospital, FMTS, University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France (Bourcier); Ophthalmology Department, CHU Morvan, University Hospital of Brest, and University of Bretagne Occidentale (UBO), Brest, France (Cochener-Lamard); Department of Ophthalmology, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS, Foundation Trust, Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom (Figueiredo); Bioscience Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom (Figueiredo); Department of Cornea and Refractive Surgery, Instituto Oftalmológico Recoletas, Valladolid, Spain (Galarreta); Department of Ophthalmology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark (Hjortdal); The Veneto Eye Bank Foundation, Venice, Italy (Jones); Dutch Transplant Foundation (NTS), Leiden, the Netherlands (Nathan); Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties, Radiological Sciences, and Public Health, Ophthalmology Clinic, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy (Romano); Department of Ophthalmology, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra (CHUC) and Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal (Rosa); Department of Ophthalmology, Saarland University Medical Centre, UKS, Homburg, Germany (Seitz); Department of Ophthalmology, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, and Brussels University Hospital VUB, Belgium (Tassignon); Eye Clinic, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany (Wacker); Department of Ophthalmology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands (Dickman); Department of Cell Biology-Inspired Tissue Engineering, MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine, Maastricht, the Netherlands (Dickman).
Purpose:
To assess current prescription patterns in Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) in Europe.
Setting:
Countries affiliated with the European Cornea and Cell Transplantation Registry and the European Vision Institute Clinical Research Network.
Design:
Cross-sectional study (European survey).
Methods:
An electronic survey was distributed to 16 national societies to gather data on prescription patterns for DMEK. Responses were categorized by 3 clinical goals: prevention of postoperative endophthalmitis, graft rejection, and pupillary block and glaucoma.
Results:
Responses from 136 surgeons revealed that medication protocols mainly came from departmental protocols (54%) or personal experiences (48%) rather than national guidelines (22%) (multiple answers were allowed). Infection prevention primarily relied on intraoperative (72%) and postoperative (92%) antibiotics, with preoperative use less common (18%). Steroids were the mainstay for rejection prevention, used intraoperatively (59%), postoperatively (100%), and occasionally preoperatively (13%). Steroids were typically tapered to once daily after 6 months (46%) and discontinued after varying durations (65%). Dexamethasone was the preferred steroid. For high-risk DMEK, the most common approach was adding another topical (30%) or systemic immunosuppressive drug (24%), such as cyclosporine or mycophenolate. For graft rejection, most respondents increased topical steroid frequency (85%) or added (peri)bulbar steroid injections (42%). Pupillary block and glaucoma prophylaxis mainly involved intraoperative mydriatics (34%); intraocular pressure-lowering agents were rarely used (0.7% to 2.2%). For steroid-induced ocular hypertension, the common approach was switching to a lower-potency steroid (40%) or reducing steroid frequency (43%).
Conclusions:
Current prescription patterns in routine and high-risk DMEK vary significantly, reflecting the lack of standardized guidelines.
More Related Videos
10:46Corneal Donor Tissue Preparation for Descemet's Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty
Published on: September 17, 2014
12:36A Human Corneal Organ Culture Model of Descemet's Stripping Only with Accelerated Healing Stimulated by Engineered Fibroblast Growth Factor 1
Published on: July 22, 2022
Related Concept Videos
01:02Prescription, Nonprescription and Orphan Drugs
The misuse and addiction to prescription drugs is a growing problem that can affect people of all age groups, specifically teenagers. This can happen when prescription medications are used in ways not intended by the prescriber, such as taking someone else's prescription or using medication for...
01:28Dosage Regimens: Designs and Approaches
01:01Dosage Regimens: Partial Pharmacokinetic Parameters
01:16Therapeutic Drug Monitoring: Overview and Classification
01:29Therapeutic Drug Monitoring: Affecting Factors
01:26Therapeutic Drug Monitoring: Drug Analysis Methods